Extending Compact-Table to Negative and Short Tables

Abstract

Table constraints are very useful for modeling combinatorial constrained problems, and thus play an important role in Constraint Programming (CP). During the last decade, many algorithms have been proposed for enforcing the property known as Generalized Arc Consistency (GAC) on such constraints. A state-of-the art GAC algorithm called Compact-Table (CT), which has been recently proposed, significantly outperforms all previously proposed algorithms. In this paper, we extend this algorithm in order to deal with both short supports and negative tables, i.e., tables that contain universal values and conflicts. Our experimental results show the interest of using this fast general algorithm.

Check-In Desk Scheduling Optimisation at CDG International Airport

“…Because of the nature of the problem (and data), it is natural to post so-called table constraints, which explicitly enumerate either the allowed tuples (positive table) or the disallowed tuples (negative table) for a sequence of variables (representing the scope of a constraint). Efficient algorithms for such table constraints have been developed over the last decade (Lecoutre 2011;Lecoutre, Likitvivatanavong, and Yap 2015;Demeulenaere et al 2016;Verhaeghe, Lecoutre, and Schaus 2017).…”